Agency Funds

An agency fund is established by a local nonprofit organization to serve as the endowment fund that supports its future operations. The Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines holds and invests the endowment assets, providing responsible and professional fund management. Distributions from the fund are granted back to the agency to be used at the discretion of its governing board.

Agency funds at the Community Foundation

As a nonprofit organization in Greater Des Moines, the Community Foundation understands the importance of local partnerships. A partnership with the Community Foundation is more than just financial investment management; it's about strengthening nonprofit organizations. This partnership helps agencies become more successful in accomplishing their missions by enhancing their capacity, partnering in education and training and increasing their impact on citizens in the community.

The Community Foundation is committed to maintaining the highest fiduciary standards and providing easy access to information about your fund. This includes investment management by our experienced Investment Committee, detailed investment reports and online access through Manage My Fund.

Advantages of establishing an agency fund

Enables board members and volunteers to focus on the agency mission and endowment building while the Community Foundation handles investment of the endowment

Promotes donor confidence by ensuring permanent assets are segregated in an endowment overseen by a professional investment manager

Builds assets to ensure a stable future by selecting from multiple investment options

The ability to combine funds into professionally managed portfolios allows greater diversification of investments and access to investment vehicles that would not be possible for individual funds

Adds visibility to your fund as part of the Community Foundation family, which can help in marketing and fundraising

Who manages the fund?

Agency assets are invested in the Community Foundation's portfolios and managed by the Community Foundation's Investment Committee.

The Investment Committee has retained Mercer, an independent investment firm, as a consultant. Mercer is an independent fiduciary, free of conflicts of interest.

The Community Foundation provides professional fund management and investment expertise, or you may also choose to work with your preferred professional advisor through our Charitable Investment Partner program.

The Community Foundation recommends an annual distribution, or spend rate, of up to 5%. As we seek to fulfill your charitable wishes for generations to come, this spend rate recommendation is based upon our long-term investment performance goals. As investment returns do vary from year to year, these normal fluctuations of the markets should be considered as you determine annual distributions in order to meet your giving goals today and for years to come.

Who can give to an agency fund?

An agency fund can be established in any amount. Once a nonprofit organization creates an agency fund, the agency and its donors can contribute to it at any time.

Fees

The Community Foundation is about more than transactions; we are about transformation. While fees collected for funds held at the Community Foundation support the processing of grant checks, accepting and acknowledging donations, completing annual audits and reporting; our fees also make you part of the change we enable in the communities we serve. It's the community convenings, the strategic grantmaking, the donor-connections, the facilitated dialogues, the nonprofit trainings and the promotion of charitable giving that ultimately transforms the communities we call home. Thank you for joining us to improve quality of life in your community. We're simply better together.

Click here to view the Community Foundation's administrative fee schedule.

For more information

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